Startup mentors discuss strategies and challenges of creating a new business.

For U.S. Startups, ‘Times They-are-a-Changing’

GUEST MENTOR Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and chairman of Case Foundation and Revolution: Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to spend much of my time on the road meeting with entrepreneurs, investors and policy makers in more than two-dozen cities. Based on those conversations, along with a confluence of factors and trends, I’m convinced that we’re beginning to see a regional “rise of the rest” as cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Detroit and many others experience unprecedented growth in startups. Silicon Valley will continue to be our nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hub, but a growing number of companies will start up in these often overlooked places.

The times-are-a-changing. A decade ago, tech entrepreneurs often felt they had to move to Silicon Valley or Boston to receive funding. Today, they can form just about anywhere and over the next decade the “rise of the rest” will play a key role driving economic growth and creating new jobs.

During my time building AOL in northern Virginia from the mid 1980s to the early 2000s, I saw firsthand how a regional approach can lead to a network effect that spurs economic growth. As AOL matured from a startup to a global brand, numerous smaller businesses popped up in and around the Dulles, Va., corridor, expanding the tax base and leading to new schools, hospitals and household formation — which in turn attracted more talented individuals to settle in the area and contribute. This can be replicated if we make a down-payment on improving the environment for entrepreneurship in the U.S.

We began making that down payment by launching the Startup America Partnership at the White House two years ago. America was built by risk-taking entrepreneurs who throughout history have turned dreams into new businesses, disrupted industries, created new ones and inspired the world. Over the past three decades, startups created 40 million American jobs, accounting for all the net job creation during that period. As we sought to recover from a very difficult economic period, we knew we had to once again turn to America’s entrepreneurs to lead the way.

And we have. Thanks to the leadership of entrepreneurs in regions across the U.S. we’re seeing the growth of an ever-widening network supporting the next wave of startup activity, innovation and job creation. Meanwhile, policy makers in Washington have begun to recognize the significance of entrepreneurs, and in 2012 they passed (with broad bipartisan support) the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) to make it easier for entrepreneurs to raise capital through crowdfunding and other means.

Finally, the wider adoption and decreasing cost of mobile and cloud computing are making it easier and cheaper for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses anywhere in the nation. Taken together, this is the dawn of a new era for U.S. entrepreneurship. It’s not surprising that this era is a “back to the future” of sorts — the pioneers who helped build the entrepreneurial system we know today created industries across the U.S. — whether Pittsburgh’s steel industry or Detroit as an automotive epicenter.

To be sure, there is still important work remaining. We need to fix our country’s high-skilled immigration system. We need to effectively implement securities-based crowdfunding. We need to make sure the tax code permanently supports long-term investments in startups. And we need to continue to build (and inspire) a culture of entrepreneurial risk-taking throughout the nation.

A few months ago I met Hamdi Ulukaya who started a small, upstate New York yogurt company in 2005. Against all odds (and against the advice of those who knew him), Hamdi hired four ex-Kraft employees to begin packaging yogurt by hand. Eight years later, Chobani yogurt is doing $ 1 billion in sales, has hired 1,500 U.S. workers with plans to expand operations, and has built a globally recognized brand. From Richmond to Austin to Portland, there are men and women who possess Hamdi’s talent and drive. Thanks to efforts like the Startup America Partnership, public policy changes through the JOBS Act, and technological innovation, more of these men and woman will have a chance to turn their dreams into businesses.

Comments (3 of 3)

Minneapolis is one of the rest. Follow our vibrant tech scene at http://tech.mn/

5:23 pm February 13, 2013

Michael Hughes wrote:

It's incredible to see the rise of entrepreneurship in cities across the country, and supporting these local ecosystems is of utmost importance. The Startup America Partnership has been a fantastic driving force in mobilizing and coordinating entrepreneurs in regions throughout the country acting as a support and resource center for entrepreneurs from all industries. At CoFoundersLab, our entire mission is to help entrepreneurs with one of the hardest, yet most critical, first steps in starting a business: finding the right co-founder(s) and building a strong team. Through our free online matching platform and in-person Co-Founders Wanted Meetups, we're determined to help entrepreneurs build stronger teams faster. Being a startup ourselves, we've received incredible advice and support from our local Startup America chapters in both Maryland and D.C.

Co-founder dysfunction is one of the leading causes of startup failure, and by helping to better solve this issue up front, we believe we can create more successful startups, and thus more successful companies spurring job creation and much needed innovation in all sectors of our economy. We're big fans of Steve and the work of the Startup America Partnership, and we look forward to continuing to work together with them in our shared goal to help entrepreneurs anywhere, in any industry, get the support they need to be successful. Startups are one of the key drivers of job growth, and making it possible for entrepreneurs to succeed anywhere, not just in Silicon Valley, is a welcomed and critical step to getting our country back on track.

Entrepreneurs unite!

1:05 pm February 5, 2013

Raymond Murdock wrote:

Well with the consultants and optimistic futorologia everything can be. The current problem is when you have to provide concrete ideas and the main work and put risk capital. Sure we began to think about a financial, bank, stocks, etc.. Everything is drive and projection as a good libretto of Economics where apparently they forgot something. Since the tax gap nobody wanted to risk their reputation, the Nobel prize, etc.. When all this started. New Winds appear, after the tormenta.Trae new guests. Appears timely ingenuity of opportunism ... I think I forgot something ...? If Who wants to work

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